MADRID - One appearance at the Bernabeu was all it took for Real Madrid fans to be won over by new signing David Beckham and see that the England captain was capable of doing much more than just selling thousands of replica shirts.

　　After two mediocre performances in his first two matches on Spanish soil there was growing suspicion that Beckham was little more than a pretty face but his display in the 3-0 victory over Real Mallorca in the second leg of the Super Cup has helped to silence many of the sceptics.

　　The former Manchester United midfielder did not exactly set the game alight last week but he did look more at ease in the company of his stellar team mates and capped a confident display with a well-taken headed goal.

　　A huge cheer echoed around the stadium when he got his first touch of the ball in the opening minutes and every time Real were awarded a free kick the chant "Beckham, Beckham" rang out around the stadium.

　　Even though it was the club's standard bearer Raul who scored the opener and World Player of the Year Ronaldo who snapped in the second, it was Beckham who brought the Bernabeu crowd to their feet when he headed home midway through the second half.

　　"I felt comfortable as soon as I stepped out on to the pitch," Beckham told reporters after the game. "The crowd were great with me and so were my team mates.

　　"It can't get any better than that for a debut, I don't think."

　　Customary slot

　　Beckham had floundered in a central midfield role in the first-leg defeat against Mallorca but looked much more at home in his customary slot on the right-hand side on Wednesday, although he has yet to find his range on his trademark crosses into the area.

　　The notoriously fickle Bernabeu crowd are usually slow to warm to new players - both Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo came under fire in the first few months after joining the club - but Beckham seems to have won over the fans more quickly than his predecessors.

　　There is little doubt that the England midfielder has nothing like the repertoire of the brilliant Zidane, nor the spectacular match-winning ability of the Brazilian.

　　But what has earned him the respect of the Real fans is his willingness to sweat it out for his team mates.

　　His 35-million-euro (US.88-million) move to Real has been held up as the ultimate marketing tool but Beckham's true value to a team crammed full of world-class players is likely to come in the form of the traditional values of hard work and determination.

　　A frequent criticism levelled at Real it is that the big names turn it on only when they really want to and that they lack the ability to slug it out with more combative teams.

　　But Beckham has shown a reassuring humility in his approach to his new job and is clearly determined to carve out a niche for himself amongst Real's high-fliers.

　　"I saw coming to Real Madrid as the biggest challenge in my career," the 28-year-old Englishman said this week. "It's a massive club with world-class players but if I felt I wasn't up to it I wouldn't have taken it on."

　　Beckham's approach has certainly impressed Real's sporting director Jorge Valdano.

　　No show-off

　　"Despite all the pressure on him, he doesn't play to show off," Valdano said during the club's pre-season tour of Asia.

　　"He plays for the team and has shown that he has exceptional physical prowess by getting involved all over the pitch."

　　The player himself seems to have an almost child-like excitement about the prospect of lining up alongside the world's best and it is this enthusiasm and willingness to improve his game that is likely to work to the benefit of both Real and England.

　　"It was great to score in my first game at the Bernabeu," Beckham said. "But it was even more special because the pass was from Ronaldo."